1. Field of the invention
The present invention concerns the application and repair of veneers and the like, in particular marquetry, mosaics, tiles, inlays, etc.
2. Description of the prior art
An object of the invention is the repair or restoration of elements applied to an object of any kind without subjecting them to any kind of deterioration, so that where necessary they may be thereafter replaced on any form of support in substantially identical manner.
Another object of the invention is a method of applying mosaic coverings to supports of all kinds.
It is well known to separate various forms of covering, including wallpaper, upholstery fabric, veneer, and so on, from a support, as by unglueing, for example. To this end use is generally made, individually or in combination, of mechanical means such as spatulas, chisels and the like and/or agents for diluting, expanding or dissolving the adhesive used to fix such coverings to their support, for example steam or acqueous, water-alcohol, organic or other solutions or suspensions.
Such processes generally cause a more or less evident change in the covering, sometimes its more or less complete destruction; this is the case with wallpaper, for example.
To avoid such damage it is also known, in the case of veneers that are to be recovered, for example, to bond some form of sheet to them before they are unglued from their support.
While the glueing on of these sheets normally provides sufficient bonding to maintain the cohesion of the various parts of the veneer, it does have the practical disadvantage of hiding more or less completely the outer face of the veneer. Such unglueing is often necessary in order to restore such veneers and/or their support. For example, when restoring inlaid furniture, especially antique furniture, it is essential in such cases to be able to detech these veneers and/or inlays from their support, without risk of causing them any damage, in practice alterations to and/or relative displacement of the various elements constituting them; on the other hand, the veneers and/or inlay recovered in this way must more often than not be restored before being replaced on a support which is usually the original item of furniture itself, which has generally been restored in the meantime.
As is known, in such cases restoration of these veneers and/or inlays is carried out in whole or in part on the inner face. To this end there will be carried out operations known in themselves, including making up worn and/or damaged thicknesses by glueing on pieces of veneer and/or inlay, filling in, etc.
For such operations to be carried out correctly, it is essential that the inner and outer faces both remain visible during the corresponding work.
It is also necessary that the veneer and/or inlay be carefully supported on a temporary support which is sufficiently rigid to prevent any deformation and/or displacement of the elements constituting it.
It is also necessary to be able to solidify the various adhesive agents used during such operations under optimum conditions; for example, to be able to dry the glues used quickly.
One advantage of the present invention is to permit the restoration of veneers and/or inlays deposited on their support by effecting the relevant operations in visible manner on their inner face and where necessary outer face.
Another advantage of the present invention is to retain the veneers and/or inlays removed from their support carefully applied throughout such operations to a flat transparent temporary support plate which is sufficiently rigid to avoid any deformation and/or any displacement of the various elements constituting them.
The rigidity of this plate nevertheless does not exclude a certain degree of flexibility making it possible to carry out all the manipulations necessary for the various operations of the invention, without risk of splintering or breaking.
A supplementary advantage of the invention is to permit relatively rapid solidification of the adhesive agents used during said operations, such as drying of glues used for this purpose, for example.